That day when the sky collapsed

After the two disappeared into the cave, Hilda moved to the willow to check on her son-in-law. He was still resting there with his arms crossed over his chest. 

"Boy, you can wake up now."

A loud groan escaped from his lips as he opened his eyes.

"How did you know I was awake?" he said, sitting up straight.

"You cant fool me, boy."

"I guess so."

"Mind telling me why you were pretending to be dead."

"With you around, I knew my recovery would be painful."

"Heh," She snorted and laughed.

"Sometimes I wonder how I could have let my daughter marry a weak person like you."

He shook his head in exasperation "Like I haven't heard that before. So those kids left huh?"

"Yes though it pains me to not accompany them."

"I know how that feels but with these injuries, we would probably slow them down especially since it didn't seem like you would whip out your recovery drug"

"My recovery drug? I will make you some just now." Those words sent a chill down his spine. Her recovery drug was known for its instant healing ability and infamous for the pain that it brought to all who dared to drink it. It led to it only being drunk in emergencies and considering that they were injured during the Act qualified as an emergency.

"I was going to make some for myself earlier so that I would be in the top condition for going to the villagers but that earnest look in her eyes made me do otherwise."

"You have always been weak to people like that." Hilda chuckled and stood up to make her drug. When she was done, she poured the mixture into six vials that she always kept with her.

"Take this," She handed him one of the vials which he downed in seconds. In a second, he was writhing and foaming at the mouth with his body shaking unsteadily as he tried to suppress his moans. All traces of injury vanished and the Village Head felt his body become more comfortable as the pain slowly eased away

Hilda chugged another and immediately bit down her quivering lip to distract herself from the pain as she waited for the drug to remove the aches and pains from walking in the cave. 

It was unfortunate the drug could not ease the pain caused by old age as she had wanted when she developed it. She remembered being a bright-eyed greenhorn hoping to take the world by surprise with a cure that solved all pain. As she aged, she realised she had been too naive. Solving all pains? Simply impossible. Some things couldn't be healed by a liquid.

Anyway, the drug was sufficient enough for the current world though a small part of that naive greenhorn had lingered as she grew, tentatively asking her to go forth with the dream. If not for her duties, temptations would have already consumed her.

She turned to face him after wiping the blood off."I have healed you. Go and do what is required of you. There are fruits in the forest. " 

He stood up, collected all the fruits and edible vegetables he could find and ate them. The recovery drug was not magical. All it did was speed up the process of healing as it forced the body to repair itself which in turn meant a lot of energy would be used. That exertion was the reason for the pain one would feel after drinking it.

Anytime someone had to be cured with it, Hilda made sure to remind them to restore their energy. In that situation, Hilda had hoped to give him foods that provided more energy but that was not possible, so she opted for quantity. 

The Village Head found Hilda drinking water from a crude bowl and piled some of the fruits and vegetables in front of her.

"It seems you have regained your strength." She took a fruit and began eating it.

"Your drug never disappoints. Any chance you will let me inherit the drug?"

She snorted." You are not worthy."

She resumed eating.

"If not me then her, right?"

"…"

"So that's a ye—"

"It's not Riley."

"Why? Did you not take her as your protegé?"

"I did. But…I am sure you have realised it. That girl is someone unnatural. She doesn't belong here. Her presence is like a lit candle on a windy day—fleeting."

"So?"

"The reason why it exists you know well. As unstable as she is, I cant allow her to take a step near it. "

"Why?"

"To protect her and ourselves." A light breeze picked up, causing their hair to dance delicately in it."The direction of the wind has changed. That boy and Riley are about to change this world's course"

"I know. I didn't feel it much from Riley but that boy has a certain aura to him. It reminds me of that bastard."

She chuckled "As expected of a student of mine. I hope you noticed this place as well."

"I am confused as to how such a place could exist under our noses. I can't even tell what part of the woods we are in."

"It is strange," she agreed. When Hilda had arrived with her husband and other people in tow, they had made it a point to scour the land for any hidden dangers of treasures. If the grove had been found then, perhaps many deaths could have been avoided.

But something in her was telling her, the place was most likely recent.

If so then—

"Isaac, I think this place is art—" 

Her words were swallowed by a thunderous sharp snapping sound. They looked around confused. That was the sound of something cracking but what? They looked overhead.

"Hey, mother-in-law. Is it me or does the sky seem to want to shatter?" As soon as he uttered those words, the sky cracked again. The cracks birthed other cracks till a gaping hole was formed in the sky. Her eyes peered into it and immediately recognized the sinister whisp of the mist.

Howls and growls echoed through the grove inciting shivers in all who had ears. The sparkling green turned a noticeable dull brown for trees and plants alike. A gust of wind swept through uprooting all plants and causing rapids in the water.

Snap! Another crack had punched a hole in the sky causing something to crash down. The Village Head immediately bolted with Hilda in his arms. With every snap, something crashed down so he increased his speed, dodging them at each turn. 

The safety hazards were black solids that had lost their sheen and allure of the sky. 

Nature began its take as well as trees toppled in their path leading to them having a close run-in with death more than once. 

As they were heading for the exit(cave entrance ), Hilda realised she had left the vials.

"Isaac! The vials!" she shouted

"It's too late!" it was indeed too late as she spotted another tree crash down where they had left them. 

But as They were nearing the cave entrance, she saw something that made her eyes widen.

She writhed out of his hold and dashed towards the vials. She dodged and ducked every crashing black solid and toppling tree.

'It has to be there!' Though a tree had fallen over and crushed some of them, there had to be one left—one was all she needed.

Snap! Another piece of the sky fell, and the hole was growing bigger.

She searched and searched but each time she was met with damp earth and shards of glass. Worry thrummed in her head as she felt she was getting nowhere.

"Is it all gone?" she muttered to herself. Her voice was void of hope. But then in some sick twist of fate, she saw it, bathed in the only sunlight left in the grove on a rock. It was the vial she had placed separately to enhance its effect. She skidded towards it, grabbed it turned tail and ran.

Fatigue began buzzing in every cell as she felt her muscles tense with every leap and lunge. Her eyes were trained in Isaac who was a short distance away.

A cool sense of relief washed over her. 'I am almost there…'

She was going to make it!

But then it happened…

The sky shattered. Multiple pieces of it crashed down to the ground, pummeling any green that was left. A gust of wind swept through once more, tearing apart anything that stood in its oath which included Hilda. 

She felt the wind push against her, slowing down her movement as countless shards of the sky brushed past her. Some of the smaller shards grazed her, forming small cuts all over her body.

The wind stopped Isaac as well. Try as he might, he was unable to get a step closer to Hilda. Though the wind kept pushing her back, she continued.

Every push meant three more steps and soon she could feel herself getting closer to him.

She stretched out her hand. He stretched out his too, their fingers almost a breath away.

"Hilda!" He screamed, his voice almost muffled by the howls of the wind.

She inched closer and closer as struggled against the wind.

'Almost there…'

Suddenly—

Jolt! The earth gave away.

She heard jerking and jolting as the ground collapsed beneath her feet. Immediately she moved backwards to more stable ground.

They were separated by a chasm that seemed to cut across the whole grove. Similar events were happening elsewhere as small pits formed.

She looked at the vial in her hand. She had to get it to them. It was then a light flickered in her eyes.

"Catch!" She tossed it to him which he caught with a bit of struggle due to the wind.

"Make sure to give it to them!" He turned to look at a bloodied Riley at the entrance of the cave, her eyes widened in shock.

Before he could say anything—

"Hilda! What about you?" Riley screamed with tears in her eyes.

Though Hilda was aware she couldn't see her, she smiled. "Don't worry about me, lasse. I will be there in a second."

Immediately she dashed forward, her speed increasing bit by bit. Any sensation of pain and fatigue was ignored with her eyes trained on the chasm.

As she felt she was close enough, she leapt. The chasm was large and quite frankly impossible for anyone to jump but she was determined to make it possible. Hilda wasn't ready to die yet. Her family.The village. And the lasse. They were all waiting for her to protect them as she had vowed on that chaotic day. She was going to do it! She was going to cross that chasm!

'Almost there…'

'Almost there!'

'Almost there!'

She was inches away from safety as she felt the ground getting closer to the tip of her shoe.

She needed more willpower. More strength! She once again stretched out her hand to her son-in-law and a buzz of delight hummed through her as their fingertips lightly grazed each other.

One foot was now on the other side. She pushed further and drew her other foot close. Victory was within sight. In the corner of her away, she saw Riley running towards them with her hands clasped to get chest and worry etched on her face. Though a bit of it dissolved, noticing Hilda's foot on the ground.

Unfortunately for them, not every story had a happy ending.

The large majesty-like willow tree toppled over. It crashed into any unsuspecting Hilda. The tree that had served as her protection had become the harbinger of her destruction.

Blood splashed everywhere. Her skull had been cracked and her eyes had rolled to the back of her head. She was losing a lot of blood. As some cruel twist of fate, the tree had given her the push to put both legs on the other side. She was on the other side but not as she had intended.

They knew she was dead. The logic and reasoning tortured their minds and ravished their hearts. Their hearts throbbed with yearning for it to all be a dream.

"Hilda!" Tears streamed down Riley's face as she dashed towards her once-breathing guardian.

Isaac, grief-stricken, collapsed to his knees and pummeled the ground as he swallowed choked sobs.

That was the day Hilda Margrave left the world…